By state law, Cochran’s felony conviction serves as an official resignation from his City Council...

]]>Thu, 21 Mar 2019 12:40:00 PDTProposal would make state medical pot program permanent, add osteoarthritis, chronic pain, autism, migraines, other conditionsRobert McCoppinhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-medical-marijuana-in-illinois-proposal-to-expand-and-make-permanent-20190321-story.html
Medical marijuana in Illinois would become legal permanently under a proposed new state law, and the list of qualifying conditions would expand greatly to include common conditions such as osteoarthritis, autism and chronic pain.

The former top regulator of medical marijuana in the state, Bob Morgan,...

]]>Thu, 21 Mar 2019 11:30:00 PDTDCFS says caseworker found no problems in home days before 2-year-old boy died of abuseRosemary Sobolhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-boy-child-abuse-charges-20190321-story.html
Last weekend, Brittany Hyc got a visit from a caseworker to make sure her two small boys were doing all right in a home where there had been allegations of abuse and neglect.

The worker, on contract with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, reported back that 2-year-old Ja’hir...

A former police chief in the DeKalb County town of Hinckley has been charged with eavesdropping and official misconduct for allegedly recording a conversation with her boss — the village president — without her consent, authorities said.

Kimberly Everhart is accused of illegally recording a 2017...

]]>Thu, 21 Mar 2019 08:20:00 PDTState trooper hit by semi downstate, 14th to be struck by a motorist this yearKatherine Rosenberg-Douglas, Elyssa Cherneyhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-14th-state-trooper-hit-20190321-story.html
An Illinois State Police trooper was seriously injured when he was hit by a semi downstate late Wednesday, bringing to 14 the number of troopers hit by vehicles this year and eclipsing the total for all of last year.

The accident took place in Collinsville, about 16 miles from St. Louis, and comes...

]]>Thu, 21 Mar 2019 08:05:00 PDTClimate change has already started disrupting life in the Great Lakes region — and it's only going to get worseTony Briscoe, Morgan Greenehttp://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-great-lakes-climate-change-report-20190319-story.html
As the Rock River began to rise near the riverfront village of Machesney Park, homeowner Jack Dillon assembled a crew of contractors, friends and family to shore up his two-story house.

The team fortified the perimeter with stacks of sandbags. They arranged and operated an elaborate network of...

]]>Thu, 21 Mar 2019 05:00:00 PDTRecreational marijuana has been legal in Colorado for years. What can Illinois learn before its residents start firing up?Robert McCoppinhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-colorado-marijuana-legalization-lessons-for-illinois-20190312-story.html
“Lasers are on,” the tour guide announces. “You can blaze.”

As beams of light shoot across the inside of the minibus, passengers take their cue to pull out marijuana joints and pipes and light up. A haze of smoke fills the bus, and a dozen smokers generously trade hits with each other.

Minutes...

]]>Thu, 21 Mar 2019 04:48:00 PDTIn TV debate, Toni Preckwinkle questions whether Lori Lightfoot has the experience to run ChicagoBill Ruthhart, Juan Perez Jr.http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-chicago-mayors-race-debate-abc7-20190320-story.html
In some ways, the state of Chicago’s race for mayor boiled down to a single moment in a televised debate Wednesday night when Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and former federal prosecutor Lori Lightfoot were given the opportunity to ask each other a question.

Trailing in recent days...

]]>Thu, 21 Mar 2019 04:47:00 PDTSuburban ex-cop who wants drug conviction vacated says authorities lied to get warrantClifford Wardhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-schaumburg-cop-drug-ring-court-hearing-20190319-story.html
A former Schaumburg police officer who pleaded guilty to involvement in a drug ring but is seeking to have his conviction vacated has alleged that authorities lied to a grand jury to obtain a search warrant.

Terrance O’Brien is serving a 24-year prison sentence but began seeking to have his record...

]]>Thu, 21 Mar 2019 04:45:00 PDTSome Illinois lawmakers want to let you bet on the NCAA Tournament by next year. Where you'd place bets is up for debate.Dan Petrellahttp://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-illinois-sports-betting-bill-20190320-story.html
Illinois House Democrats are laying out four potential paths for legalizing sports betting in the state, with options ranging from creating a limited number of licenses for existing casinos and horse tracks to allowing gamblers to place bets wherever lottery tickets are sold.

Democratic Gov. J.B....

]]>Thu, 21 Mar 2019 04:00:00 PDTDemocrats want end to Electoral College. Is it idiocracy or a rush to the 'Hunger Games'?John Kasshttp://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-electoral-college-kass-20190320-story.html
I’ve just taken a good, long hit on the Kasshish pipe, and now my eyes are finally open to the wisdom of Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

Kasshish makes you see reality, but it also gives you the munchies, so if you don’t mind, I’d very much like a plate of “Cold Omelets with Crab Meat,”...

]]>Thu, 21 Mar 2019 03:00:00 PDTAlarms sound after 6 suicides by Chicago cops over 8 months: ‘It’s definitely worrying and demands attention’Madeline Buckley, Annie Sweeneyhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-chicago-police-suicides-20190315-story.html
A dozen or so police officers gather once every month in the basement of an office building and talk — about handling holidays with families, about nightmares so bad they are reluctant to share a bed at night.

Most of the officers were involved in a shooting while on duty, and here they share stories...

]]>Thu, 21 Mar 2019 02:46:00 PDTArrests made in I-57 shooting that injured two teenagers in FebruaryMorgan Greenehttp://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-interstate-57-shooting-arrest-0321-story.html
Two suspects involved last month in an Interstate 57 shooting in the south suburbs have been arrested, Illinois State Police said Wednesday.

In a news release, state police said Christian Plummer, 23, of Markham, and Jonathan E. Thompson, 24, of Markham, were taken into custody and charged for...

]]>Wed, 20 Mar 2019 20:15:00 PDTThose anti-gay political flyers about Chicago mayoral candidate Lori Lightfoot underestimate black voters.Dahleen Glantonhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-dahleen-glanton-gay-mayor-flyers-20190320-story.html
It is no secret that a lot of African-American church folks believe that homosexuality is a sin. They can pull out their Bible and immediately show you the passage where God said so himself.

So it would not have taken a rocket scientist to predict that in a Chicago mayoral runoff, where one of...

]]>Wed, 20 Mar 2019 17:55:00 PDTChicago adventurer who almost died training for rarely achieved exploring feat is tackling Mount Everest nextJohn Keilmanhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-chicago-mt-everest-explorer-20190307-story.html
Chicago adventurer Alexander Pancoe has traveled to some of the most desolate places on Earth and scaled mountains with fearful body counts. But the most danger he has faced in his quest to achieve the Explorers Grand Slam, a feat that involves scaling the highest mountain on each continent and...
]]>Wed, 20 Mar 2019 15:45:00 PDTGov. J.B. Pritzker gets mixed reviews in early poll, while Speaker Michael Madigan rates lower than TrumpRick Pearsonhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-jb-pritzker-approval-rating-20190320-story.html
Little more than two months after his inauguration, Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker is drawing mixed reviews from state residents, according to a statewide poll released Wednesday by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University.

At the same time, the poll found deep disapproval...

]]>Wed, 20 Mar 2019 15:30:00 PDTNew report reveals 'horrifying scale' of child sex abuse, naming nearly 400 accused Catholic clergy in IllinoisElyssa Cherney, Anna Kimhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-illinois-priest-sex-abuse-catholic-church-report-20190320-story.html
Attorneys who represent victims of sexual abuse by priests have released what they say is the most comprehensive list yet of Catholic clergy with ties to Illinois who have been accused of misconduct against children.

The list includes about 400 priests and lay people who at one time served in parishes...

]]>Wed, 20 Mar 2019 15:25:00 PDTSailor from Great Lakes charged with obtaining sexually explicit videos from 13-year-old girlJason Meisnerhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-navy-sailor-underage-sex-offense-20190320-story.html
A sailor stationed at the Naval Station Great Lakes has been charged in federal court in Chicago with convincing a 13-year-old girl he met online to send him sexually explicit photos and videos of herself.

Ethan Knez, 21, was arrested at the base on Tuesday on a charge of sexual exploitation of...

]]>Wed, 20 Mar 2019 15:00:00 PDTWrongful death lawsuit against Illinois State Police filed by family of Aurora mass shooting victimStacy St. Clair, Annie Sweeneyhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-aurora-shooting-lawsuit-vincente-juarez-20190320-story.html
The family of a man slain in last month’s mass shooting in Aurora has filed a lawsuit against the Illinois State Police for issuing a firearm license to the convicted felon who opened fire in the plant during a termination hearing.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday by the family of Vicente Juarez is...

]]>Wed, 20 Mar 2019 14:40:00 PDTIndicted R. Kelly, saying he's struggling financially, seeks permission to travel to Dubai for concertsMegan Crepeauhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-r-kelly-travel-dubai-20190320-story.html
R&B singer R. Kelly wants a Cook County judge’s permission to travel to Dubai next month to perform in concerts, arguing it would be “a hardship” on his children if he can’t make the trip because he needs the money to pay off child support, among other expenses.

]]>Wed, 20 Mar 2019 14:15:00 PDTBoy, 5, found 'covered in bruises' in home where 2-year-old boy was discovered dead from child abuseRosemary Sobolhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-washington-park-child-abuse-20190319-story.html
A 5-year-old boy was found “covered in bruises’’ in the same home where 2-year-old Ja’hir Gibbons was discovered dead from child abuse, according to Chicago police.

A woman and a 21-year-old man were being questioned about the death of the boy, but no charges had been reported as of Wednesday afternoon.

...
]]>Wed, 20 Mar 2019 14:05:00 PDTThe Spin: Stroger endorses Preckwinkle | Mayor's race debate tonight | Relief for Metra commuters?Lisa Donovanhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-preckwinkle-stroger-lightfoot-biss-podcast-20190320-story.html
We’re in for a stretch of mayoral debates starting tonight, giving candidates Lori Lightfoot and Toni Preckwinkle equal air time even if they aren’t on the same footing when it comes to TV ads right now. As reported, Lightfoot launched a funny and personal TV spot featuring her 11-year-old daughter,...
]]>Wed, 20 Mar 2019 13:45:00 PDTFloyd Brown pleads not guilty to federal charges in shooting death of McHenry County Deputy Jacob KeltnerElvia Malagonhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-floyd-brown-deputy-killed-court-hearing-20190319-story.html
Nearly two weeks after a McHenry County sheriff’s deputy was fatally shot, a 39-year-old man charged in the death pleaded not guilty Wednesday to federal charges in U.S. District Court in Rockford.